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From The Guardian, via alternet.org. Writer's background: Heidi Moore is the Guardian's US finance and economics editor. Formerly, she was New York bureau chief and Wall Street correspondent for Marketplace, from American Public Media.
"The president's economic initiatives – food stamps, manufacturing, infrastructure, raising the debt ceiling, appointing a new chairman of the Federal Reserve – have mostly ended in either neglect or shambles. After five years, the Obama Administration's stated intentions to improve the fortunes of the middle class, boost manufacturing, reduce income inequality, and promote the recovery of the economy have come up severely short.
Despite this, the president believes he is negotiating his economic agenda with Congress from a position of strength, and almost every speech includes some self-congratulatory note about how far the economy has come." Delusional, perhaps.
One more quote from the article for you pwog sycophants.
"Wherever the president turned, it would have been abundantly clear to him that tying his fortunes to Summers would have been akin to tying two rocks together to see if they float." Too rich. That is all I can say.
Hold On, Ben! Heading Off a Cliff?
Ben Bernanke's Federal Reserve may be ready to trim its $85 billion of monthly economy-boosting asset purchases, but a new indicator that claims a strong track record of predicting nominal gross domestic product is saying "not so fast."
Billtrust, which provides outsourced e-billing services representing more than $200 billion in annual transactions for largely housing-related businesses, just introduced its Billtrust B2B Sales Index, and the data show that economic activity teetered on a cliff in June and July. Indeed, those months posted the worst results in the three years for which the company has collected data on B2B invoices. Activity in August rebounded a bit, but, taken together, the three months suggest that the economy is headed for some rough going by year end.
Doldrums: An economic index suggests growth this summer was slower than realized and could herald tough times ahead.
"The recent past is not looking nearly as good as the expansion period," says Arthur A. Ferri, a Ph.D. in finance and international business who oversees the index. Ferri says backtesting of the index has shown a strong correlation to future nominal gross domestic product. It tends to move several quarters in advance of actual GDP figures.
If the relationship between the index and GDP holds, "it suggests there will be growth through November, followed by anemic growth or an outright contraction," Ferri says.
Second-quarter GDP was revised up to an annual pace of 2.5% in late August, from an earlier paltry reading of 1.7%. Economists are predicting GDP for the third quarter ending in September to rise by 2.1%. But Ferri notes that higher mortgage rates have already taken a toll on new-home sales, which plunged by 13.4% in July.
But, but, it's if not for those obstructionist republicans.Right.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by theS5
Hold On, Ben! Heading Off a Cliff?
Ben Bernanke's Federal Reserve may be ready to trim its $85 billion of monthly economy-boosting asset purchases, but a new indicator that claims a strong track record of predicting nominal gross domestic product is saying "not so fast."
Billtrust, which provides outsourced e-billing services representing more than $200 billion in annual transactions for largely housing-related businesses, just introduced its Billtrust B2B Sales Index, and the data show that economic activity teetered on a cliff in June and July. Indeed, those months posted the worst results in the three years for which the company has collected data on B2B invoices. Activity in August rebounded a bit, but, taken together, the three months suggest that the economy is headed for some rough going by year end.
Doldrums: An economic index suggests growth this summer was slower than realized and could herald tough times ahead.
"The recent past is not looking nearly as good as the expansion period," says Arthur A. Ferri, a Ph.D. in finance and international business who oversees the index. Ferri says backtesting of the index has shown a strong correlation to future nominal gross domestic product. It tends to move several quarters in advance of actual GDP figures.
If the relationship between the index and GDP holds, "it suggests there will be growth through November, followed by anemic growth or an outright contraction," Ferri says.
Second-quarter GDP was revised up to an annual pace of 2.5% in late August, from an earlier paltry reading of 1.7%. Economists are predicting GDP for the third quarter ending in September to rise by 2.1%. But Ferri notes that higher mortgage rates have already taken a toll on new-home sales, which plunged by 13.4% in July.
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